


Whatever She Needs

by reachingjameson



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-31
Updated: 2016-07-22
Packaged: 2018-05-30 06:46:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6413233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reachingjameson/pseuds/reachingjameson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The emotional ups and downs, Emma's new timid nature and her constantly pale pallor tied together quickly in Regina's mind. By the time their feet hit the ground in real Storybrooke, she had no doubt that Emma was pregnant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

When Regina first started noticing that something was off with Emma, she had been able to do nothing more than frown to herself and keep moving. They had still been in the Underworld caught up between saving Hook and every other soul there and trying to escape that literal hellhole intact themselves. The entire heroic nature of their trip hadn't left a lot of time for casual chats about why Emma was suddenly so hell bent on retrieving Hook from the Underworld, especially once the pirate himself had become resistant to the idea. And so Regina started to file away the things she noticed about the blonde that made her feel uneasy.

There was the sudden behavior shift from being the kick ass savior that had barged in to Storybrooke and in to Regina's life, to a more reserved and love orientated mindset. Regina couldn't fault Emma for wanting to love and be loved in return, not when she was busy chasing her own supposed happy ending, but it did strike Regina as strange that much of Emma's character had changed so drastically recently. Emma's loss of appetite and emotional tolerance had also given some cause for concern. Truthfully, Regina wasn't sure that Emma's change was any of her business. They were friends, probably best friends, but Regina was still unsure where her place was in Emma's life. In the Underworld, Emma had placed Hook's welfare above that of others time and time again such was her desperation to keep him with her and whether Emma meant it or not, it put Henry as risk. Regina would have gotten to the bottom of the issue right then in the Underworld if she hadn't noticed how utterly meek Emma appeared whenever she was without Hook, and meek was certainly not a term that Regina felt comfortable applying to Emma in the slightest.

It was right before they had returned to their reality of Storybrooke when Regina had finally made the realization of why she felt so uneasy about Emma's behavior, and put the pieces of the puzzle that was Emma's new attitude and actions together. Hook had decided to move on to a better place, and Emma had reluctantly agreed, too selfless to beg for Hook to stay though she did truly fight for him to change his mind. Regina hadn't doubted that Emma loved him then, but it made more sense why when Regina caught a glimpse of the blonde clutching at her stomach as the pirate stepped over in to the light that promised him an endless happiness. His brother and father would be waiting for him, and Milah too after they had rescued her soul.

The emotional ups and downs, Emma's new timid nature and her constantly pale pallor tied together quickly in Regina's mind. By the time their feet hit the ground in real Storybrooke, she had no doubt that Emma was pregnant.

A few days had passed since their return in which Emma was yet to venture out of her house, or to let anyone in it, including Henry. The more everyone discussed how Emma simply needed time to grieve, the more irritated Regina grew and so she arrived on Emma's doorstep intent on not allowing Emma to wallow alone. As expected, the first few knocks on Emma's front door went unanswered, much like the numerous texts and calls that Regina had made. If not for Henry begging for his mother to let him know she was still alive twice a day, they wouldn't have even known whether or not Emma was still breathing in the empty house. Huffing out a breath, Regina peered through the window by the door once more though it was useless, Emma had drawn the curtains.

"Swan, if you don't open this door I'll blow it off it's hinges," Regina called out warningly, not at all bluffing but also knowing that Emma likely wouldn't care considering the state she was in. Regina considered another tactic, a slightly crueler one perhaps. 'I know what you're really hiding from. I bought you food from Granny's and you won't see any of it if you don't open the door,' she called out once more.

It took half a minute before Regina heard the distinct clicking of a lock, and she smiled triumphantly before pushing the door open. As she expected, the house was still as empty and barren as it had been when she was first there. Grey seemed to seep out of every corner and invade the space, making the atmosphere almost physically heavy with its lack of light or personality. Evidently having used magic to unlock the door, Emma was nowhere to be seen as Regina closed the door behind her and quietly strode in to the living room where she had once seen Emma sit dejectedly on the couch as the Dark One. It was in almost this exact position that Regina found the blonde now, though without the frosty hairstyle and leather outfit. Walking around the couch, Regina found Emma to be lying down staring blankly ahead. Her eyes were red from crying too hard and the skin on her cheeks was visible dry. Emma had cried herself to the point where no more tears would come, it seemed.

"How do you know?" Emma asked, her voice cracking horribly and barely audible through the sheer sadness that colored her tone.

Carefully pulling the small chair closer to the couch, Regina sat down, offering a sad smile to Emma. "You should eat," she said, offering the bag to Emma and hoping that the simple grilled cheese would be the right call.

Frowning, Emma reluctantly sat up, and slowly scooted to the end of the couch where she could lean against the end of it heavily. "You didn't answer my question," she pointed out as thin, grey fingers deftly picked at the top of the brown take out bag.

"And you haven't started eating," Regina countered simply, raising a single eyebrow challengingly at Emma who promptly rolled her eyes and opened the bag up properly. Only once the blonde had taken the smallest of bites did Regina move to say anything else. 'You've been acting strange for weeks now. Your stint as the Dark One and our trip to see Hades provided good distractions but I put things together when Hook…you know,' she said, waving a hand vaguely so as to know specifically remind Emma of what had happened.

Still, Emma paled even more so, and froze mid-chew. Her throat clenched with the visible effort it took to force the food down her throat, and Regina chastised herself internally for not waiting until Emma had eaten more before she said anything as Emma carefully put the grilled cheese aside.

"Does anyone else know?" the blonde whispered, now unable to make eye contact with Regina.

"No. The others think the reason you've hidden yourself away is simply because you lost Hook, they don't know that there's a little more to it than that. And honestly, they're a little too dense to notice," Regina replied, crossing her legs and clasping her hands in her lap as she did so. The urge to reach out and take hold of Emma's hands was great, but she was sure the blonde wouldn't respond all that well to physical touch at the moment.

Nodding, Emma let out a derisive chuckle. "I should have known I couldn't get away with keeping it a secret from everyone," she said, leaning back in to the couch and leveling Regina with an intrigued sort of frown. 'You didn't get anything for you to eat,' she pointed out.

With a quick glance to the take out bag and then back to Emma, Regina made it clear just why that was before she even spoke. "Not all of us desire to have our arteries clogged with cholesterol before we're forty," she said.

"Aren't you technically already in your sixties?" Emma pointed out curiously.

Her own expression darkening, Regina pursed her lips. "If you ever mention such nonsense again I'll burn every jacket you own and encourage Snow to lend you some of her wonderful sweaters. Perhaps a nice cardigan or a shawl would be lovely," she threatened, though she smile as she saw the corners of Emma's mouth tilt upward at their banter.

Appearing slightly more at ease, Emma reached for her sandwich once more, determination in her eyes even if Regina could tell that there was a slight lack of appetite there. "Did my parents send you?" Emma asked before she took another bite, this one only slightly bigger than the first.

"No one knows that I came. There is a general belief that you need time and space in order to properly grieve," Regina replied flatly, reminded of the stupidity that accumulated whenever the Charmings and their gaggle of geese got together to talk about anything. She might have mended things with them but that didn't mean she agreed with their actions, especially when it came to handling things with Emma. Typically, her parents were rather terrible at it.

Emma seemed to understand Regina's frustration as she smiled a little bigger this time. "Leave it to you to go against my parents and just show up banging on the door demanding to be let in," she said with a dry, raspy laugh.

Sniffing indignantly, Regina briefly inspected her nails. "Someone had to be proactive. I couldn't let you waste away in this place on your own, grieving or otherwise," she said, conjuring up a look of disdain for the interior of the house that Emma now resided in.

Also glancing around, some of Emma's sadness returned to her eyes but her lips were still set in an almost smile. "The quiet is nice, after living with my parents for so long and with Henry there, too. I love the kid and my parents, but they make a hell of a lot more noise than they have any right to," she sighed.

Regina clamped her jaw down before a throwaway comment about the noise a baby would make could leave her mouth. Emma had let Regina in and was talking to her, that would be enough for today if that was all Emma could give. It wasn't the right time to start questioning Emma about her plans, not that it was any of Regina's business to do that in the first place. Still, when Regina met Emma's gaze then she could tell that Emma had been thinking the same thing. There was a defeated sort of look in Emma's eye, like she knew what was coming and had resigned herself to the unhappiness that she predicted would come for her. It made Regina's heart ache uncomfortable to see the hopelessness that was hovering in the depths of Emma's glassy eyes.

"I could help you decorate," Regina found herself saying, and surprising herself with the earnest meaning that she had put in to the words.

Emma was surprised, too, blinking as she paused in the movement of taking another bite from her grilled cheese. "You would do that?" she asked, pulling away from the sandwich to frown at Regina almost confusedly.

Rolling her shoulders in a shrug, Regina attempted to remain nonchalant. "This place is depressing for the soul, Miss Swan, it needs some lightening up," she replied simply.

"Coming from the woman who lived in a medieval style castle and currently living in a house that's completely black and white?" Emma chuckled, quickly overcoming her surprise at Regina's offer. 'I'm kidding,' she added, and Regina felt her shoulders relax. She hadn't even noticed that she had gotten offended at Emma's comment.

"Well, the offer stands. God knows you shouldn't trust your mother when it comes to decorating, I'm still trying to fix the mess she made of my office when she was mayor," Regina continued, eyes darting around the bland living room and wondering if the house itself could be saved or if it was too dark and beyond anyone's help.

Across from her, Emma similarly looked around as though the ghosts seeped out of the walls. "I appreciate the offer, I really do, Regina. I'm just not sure if I'll stay here much longer," the blonde admitted quietly, not needing to explain why.

The house had been Hook's idea, and Emma had made it a reality when she had become the Dark One. It was supposed to be a home for them both, and now Emma was left without Hook but with a constant reminder of him both internally and superficially as far as the house was concerned.

"There are plenty of other places for you to stay. Not everyone came back over in the curse your parents cast, some were beyond its reach. I'm sure we can find something that will work, whatever suits you," Regina provided simply, aware that there were indeed empty houses that were being advertised throughout town.

Finishing up the sandwich more delicately than Regina thought she was capable of doing, Emma carefully folded up the paper bag. "You haven't asked me about what I'm going to do," she murmured quietly, keeping her gaze downcast.

Even though Emma wasn't looking, Regina found herself shrugging as her first version of an answer. "It isn't my place to pester you about what you're going to do now. It's my place to show up and tell you when you're being stupid, and right now you're pushing the people who love you away. That equates to stupidity, as understandable as I may find it," she continued gently, knowing that she had to be delicate now that the conversation had made this serious turn.

Vaguely nodding along to Regina's words, Emma roughly cleared her throat. "I don't know what I'm going to do. I've been…I've had a…"

Emma clenched her fists and eyes together at once in frustration, unwilling to speak the exact words aloud, and Regina quickly leant forward. Instinctively, she reached out to take Emma's closed fists in her own hands and gently worked them loose so that she could hold them firmly.

"You don't have to say or do anything you don't want to, Emma. I won't judge you, I'm here to help," Regina murmured earnestly, willing the other woman to open up and not to shut down as she was obviously so close to doing.

Chest working to force air in and out in something that might resemble a calming manner, Emma took more than a minute to calm down, and for her hands to gently grip Regina's in return. "I've been through this before," she finally said, eyes open but staring at their hands. 'I haven't taken a test but…I know.'

Though Regina didn't doubt Emma's experience, and didn't doubt her own hunch about the pregnancy, common sense still prevailed. "You should take one just to be sure, and then you can think about what you want to do. There's no rush, and I won't tell anyone while you don't want me to-"

"Please don't," Emma interjected, wide eyed meeting Regina's fearfully. 'I can't deal with anyone else knowing.'

With a squeeze of Emma's hands to assure the woman, Regina inclined her head in affirmation. "I know that it's been a long road and we've been through a lot, it might be hard to imagine, but you can trust me. I might not have been through this like you have but I do what I can to help. I owe you that much, as my friend if not for a repayment for ruining your life in the first place," she said.

Emma shook her head, "You didn't ruin it, and you've done plenty to earn my trust. You don't have anything left to atone for with me," she said, glancing down at their joined hands again. 'Thank you, Regina. For the food, for this,' she added, her words dripping with gratitude.

Smiling to herself, Regina let out a relieved breath. In her mind on the way to Emma's house, she had imagined many scenarios that could have taken place but she hadn't expected Emma to actually want her help.

"Is there anything you need?" Regina asked, inwardly surprised at her willingness to obtain whatever it was that Emma might happen to request. It wasn't exactly not in Regina's nature to be nurturing and accommodating, but it was certainly a first for their friendship that the feelings were manifesting in a physical desire to want to make things better or easier for Emma. Regina felt a rush of pride for them both and for how far they had come from punching each other in a cemetery.

With a knowing, almost embarrassed smile, Emma met Regina's eyes with a newly bright gaze of her own. "Any chance you could phone in an order for another grilled cheese?" she asked hopefully.

Letting out a laugh, Regina shook her head and rose to her feet. "Granny's are far too greasy. I'll make you one, instead," she said, making her way out toward the kitchen.

"Thank you," Emma whispered as Regina reached the doorway, not looking back at Regina but instead staring down at the palms of her hands.

"Don't mention it," Regina countered before slipping from the room.

She may never have particularly liked Hook but it was truly awful that Emma was being left alone in the current predicament that was being forced upon her. As Regina sought out a pan in Emma's kitchen, she found herself gritting her teeth in anger. Hook was currently in some wonderful place of betterment and happiness while Emma was grieving, pregnant and alone. Again. Emma might be sad about missing Hook, but Regina was furious. Her friend didn't deserve the pain that she was being put through, and Regina truly was going to find a way to be whatever support Emma needed.


	2. Chapter Two

It was far from being in Regina's nature to suddenly take a day off, let alone venture out of Storybrooke as a way to use up the free time but that was exactly what she was doing. After receiving a short text from Emma the night before politely requesting a ride to Portland, Regina had cleared her full schedule in order to be there for Emma. No explanation was given that night once Regina had agreed to help, and when Emma quietly slipped in to the Mercedes the next morning her jaw was clamped so tight that Regina was almost certain that it might have been wired shut in the two days since they had last seen one another. From from the way that Emma's clenched fists shook slightly, Regina could guess why she had been called to help in the first place, Emma didn't appear capable of steering herself to wherever she intended on going.

Upon leaving the house that morning, Regina had had to attempt to dodge Robin's curious questions as to why she wasn't planning on going in to work that day. The night before, when he had witnessed Regina hurriedly emailing her assistant at midnight, he had assumed she was either unwell or planned to spend her free day with him. Holding on to his still fairly new daughter, Robin had looked so very dejected when Regina admitted that this wasn't the case and she and Emma were instead leaving Storybrooke.

Robin had adopted that expression Regina was growing tired of seeing on everyone's faces whenever they talked about Emma, pity, and had said that it would be good for Emma to get out. His disappointment was obvious, but Regina could do nothing more than peck his cheek before she left to retrieve Emma. Since then, the sound of Mercedes' engine had been the most prevalent sound as Emma remains stony faced and quiet aside from the two times Regina had to pull over so that Emma could be sick. As accommodating as she was trying to be, Regina could only stand the silence for so long and Emma could hardly avoid her.

Just as she made the turn on to the freeway that would lead them directly in to the city of Portland, Regina blew out a long, pent up breath. "Care to tell me where we're going?" she ventured, trying to keep her tone as light as possible but not succeeding perfectly.

Next to her, Emma sat just a rigid as ever, but her throat cleared after a few seconds nonetheless. "I'll direct you as we get closer," she muttered, almost too low for Regina to hear over the quiet growl of the engine that powered them along the freeway.

"That isn't exactly helpful information," Regina sighed just as quietly.

After a few long minutes, though, Emma finally broke just enough to let Regina in on a portion of the plan. "I have a doctor's appointment," she admitted, her head turned away from Regina so that she stared out of the window uninterestedly.

In the back of Regina's mind she wondered if Emma had made a decision, and that they were currently hurtling toward a clinic someplace that would remove this new possible addition in Emma's life. Whether or not Emma chose to keep the baby was none of Regina's business, and she would support whatever decision the blonde made, but she did feel like something of an accessory to a grand secret and that made her feel somewhat uncomfortable. Regina had no solid opinion on the termination of pregnancy, especially not considering the actions she had taken against herself to prevent childbirth, but she felt unprepared to help manage Emma through such an event. Mostly, Regina was worried for Emma, and worried that she was making a decision that she wouldn't later regret.

True to her word, Emma directed Regina away from the freeway when necessary without the use of a map or even her phone as though she had memorized the route, and Regina guessed that was probably exactly the case. After winding their way through outer city traffic and sitting at traffic lights that seemed to take twice as long to change as they did in Storybrooke, Regina eventually drew the Mercedes to a stop in the small parking lot of a doctor's office.

Looking around, the area was relatively quiet considering it was tucked not too far from the freeway itself. The doctor's office was situated on the very end of a small strip of other buildings, all connected at the walls and all a slightly different shade of brown brick. A tax office, a Chinese restaurant, a vintage looking shoe store and a post office all presented looking relatively tired.

"Well, this looks cheery," Regina murmured, peering around at the parking lot which was empty of all but two other cars, both as old as Regina's Mercedes but not nearly as well looked after.

Also looking around, Emma appeared much more on edge than Regina before she sucked in a deep breath. "Let's get this over with," she said before all but bailing out of the car.

If Regina was expected to stay in the car, Emma sure didn't make that clear and so Regina followed the blonde in to the clinic. As soon as they stepped inside, Regina had to choke back the air that immediately stuck in her throat as she was assaulted by the overpowering odor of far too much sanitizer. Emma swayed on the spot for a second as she adjusted before powering on to the reception desk, a beady eyed elderly woman watching them curiously from the corner, her thin bony hands clasped over the top of her cane.

"Emma Swan," was all that Emma said, without giving any other information with which Regina could use to ascertain why they were actually there.

The woman behind the desk was almost as old as the one sitting in the corner, and her movements were slow as her glassy eyes scanned the ancient computer screen in front of her. "Take a seat, Doctor Preston will be with you in a moment," the woman eventually drawled without looking away from the screen.

Against her better judgment, Regina dutifully sat next to Emma in a highly uncomfortable metal chair with the thinnest faux leather cushioning she had ever seen. As she lithely crossed her legs, Regina detected a ghostly laugh from her left and quickly glanced at a near smiling Emma.

"You don't have to keep hiding how much you hate this place. You're not doing a good job of it anyway," Emma told her, appearing far more comfortable in their environment than Regina was, though her fingers still fidgeted idly with the cuffs of the sleeves on her blue jacket.

Cocking an eyebrow, Regina cast a dark glare around the dilapidated waiting room. "Did you actively search for the dirtiest doctor's office you could find in the state of Maine, or is it just a happy coincidence that we might leave here with a staff infection?" she shot back in a low hiss, earning a glare from the receptionist that she promptly ignored.

With a light shake of her head, Emma sighed, pale lips still pulled in to the smallest of smiles brought on by Regina's discomfort. "It was the closest office to the freeway, and I figured that asking you to drive me here at all was enough, better to make it as short a trip as possible. Besides, they ask a lot less questions," she said more quietly than Regina had bothered to be.

Giving up on getting comfortable, Regina perched herself on the edge of her seat, arms and legs crossed. "Yes, I imagine that explaining a Storybrooke address could be troublesome when someone half-intelligent questions its geographical location and overall existence," she admitted.

Sharing a knowing look, the two women only had to withstand the waiting room for a few minutes more until a door opened and a women poked her head out, eyes searching. "Swan?" she asked, her voice not nearly as harsh or as slow as her receptionist's.

"I can stay here," Regina immediately offered as Emma froze momentarily, the doctor disappearing back in to her office to await her newest patient.

Emma licked her lips, her eyes darting longingly toward the door as though she would love nothing more than to sprint right through it, before she grit her teeth and shook her head. Emma didn't have to say a word for Regina to know that she wanted her in there, likely to prevent her from running, and so Regina promptly rose to her feet and waited while Emma followed suit.

Thankfully, Doctor Preston's office was far tidier than the waiting room. It's walls were a crisp white, her desk made of glass with metal trimming and everything appeared to be up to date and modern from the examination table to the small odds and ends about the place. Doctor Preston herself was probably not much older than Emma, and word plain clothes rather than a coat of any kind. She looked approachable and her eyes were kind as she smiled at Emma and Regina in greeting, apparently not at all surprised that Regina had accompanied Emma in to the room itself.

When they were seated across from her, Doctor Preston offered them an even greater smile. "So, Emma, I believe you wanted to come in to confirm a pregnancy?" she said, while Regina's eyes flitted to the framed degrees hung neatly on the wall behind the red haired doctor.

All Emma could do was nod meekly, her throat bobbing in a tell tale sign that she felt like being sick, but Regina watched her valiantly fight the urge back. "Yes," she eventually rasped.

Doctor Preston nodded, "Well, that's a pretty simple task," she said, reaching behind her to retrieve a plastic sample cup. 'There's a bathroom just outside, we'll do a standard dip test and then take some blood just to be sure.'

Cheeks turning a furious red from embarrassment, Emma quickly plucked the cup from Doctor Preston's grasp and disappeared through the door they had just ventured through.

As far as Regina knew, Emma was yet to even take an at home test to confirm the pregnancy, and in a small town like Storybrooke news that Emma had finally ventured out of her house would have filtered back to Regina at some point. It was far more likely that Emma had trusted her instincts and her experience and booked the appointment, and Regina couldn't fault the woman for skipping the small steps to get to the big ones.

"Did you have to drive far?" Doctor Preston asked after a couple of seconds to fill the silence that had erupted with Emma's departure.

The red head was organizing something just out of Regina's line of sight as she spoke, though her eyes had flicked up to Regina. "Not too far," was all that Regina allowed, her body uncomfortably tense as she waited for Emma to return.

The doctor nodded along, "When Emma first called I wasn't sure that she had any sort of support, I'm glad to see that isn't the case. Does she have any family?"

Regina knew it was an innocent question asked by a woman who likely had to ask such things, but Regina was now so experienced with people and beings trying to kill Emma or the Charmings that she instinctively became somewhat protective. It was highly unlikely that Doctor Preston knew about magic or that fairytales were real, and she wasn't prying for information to use against them, but Regina had learned it was better to be safe than sorry.

"She has me," Regina replied evenly in a nice enough tone but also one that made it clear that wasn't about to start spilling Emma's secrets.

Thankfully, Emma proved to be efficient at urinating in to a cup as she returned then, doing her very best to hide the cup from Regina's view as she handed it over to the doctor. Now wearing a pair of latex white gloves, Doctor Preston quickly moved toward a sink in the corner of the room with the sample cup in hand.

While the woman's back was turned, Regina glanced over at Emma, who silently nodded to Regina's unasked question of whether she was alright. Emma was doing her best to keep much of whatever she was feeling to herself, but Regina knew the other woman well enough to know that there was far more going on than just what Emma allowed to be played out on the surface.

A tense silence filled the room as Emma and Regina stared at the test where it laid on the side of the sink. While Regina trusted Emma's instincts, having the pregnancy confirmed in a physical manner felt like something else entirely. It shouldn't have come as a surprise when Doctor Preston smiled, and her mouth formed the words to tell them the test was positive, and yet Regina felt as though the world had been thrown off its axis ever so slightly and she immediately sought out Emma's gaze to assess her reaction. Her eyes were downcast while Doctor Preston removed her gloves and returned to her desk, making it hard for Regina to really see her, but there was no happiness in Emma's demeanor. There was nothing.

Turning her attention back to the doctor, Regina attempted to swallow the lump in her throat that arose the moment she laid eyes on the small stack of brochures that Doctor Preston slid across her shiny glass desk toward Emma as she sat back down, who didn't even look at them.

"Like I said, we'll take some blood just to be absolutely sure and we'll call you with the results of those in a few days. Until then, you can familiarize yourself with your options if you're unsure," Doctor Preston said, her smile not as bright now that she had seen Emma's complete lack of reaction to the news.

Emma stiffly nodded, "I know what they are," she said, alluding to her previous experience with being pregnant and giving birth. Reaching out, Emma quickly sifted through the brochures, separating them before sliding two back toward the doctor. Regina could make out their titles, one to assist in providing information on the termination of pregnancy and the other a leaflet on adoption.

Regina hadn't been expecting the wave of relief that washed over her at Emma's decision, and she had to scramble not to let it show outwardly. As Doctor Preston moved to continued on to undergo the task of drawing Emma's blood, Regina had to remind herself again that this wasn't really any of her business in the first place. If Emma wanted or needed her assistance, she would give it, but Regina wasn't entitled to any sort of tangible opinion. And yet, Regina she couldn't help but be thankful that Emma had at least decided against making any drastic decisions that day that she might regret with a little more time.

"Just a little sting," Doctor Preston warned a few minutes later as she stood by Emma, a needle poised over the inside of the blonde's left elbow.

When the needle embedded itself in to the skin, Emma didn't even flinch, her mind obviously elsewhere. For the first time, Regina could clearly imagine what Emma might have looked like as a frightened, pregnant eighteen year old in prison. While she sat there having her blood taken, Emma looked small and withdrawn, as though she had the weight of the world resting solidly upon her shoulders.

They didn't wait around to chat with Doctor Preston, or the elderly woman that still sat in the corner of the waiting room like a highly judgmental gargoyle, and instead hurried straight out to the car. It wasn't until Regina had put some distance between them and the doctor's office that either one of them spoke a word.

"Are you alright?" Regina ventured, positive that it was the wrong thing to say but at a loss for anything else.

Letting out a shaky breath, Emma was quiet for a few long moments. "Thank you for coming," she said, predictably dodging the question that Regina had posed to her.

Pulling the car over on the side of the road, Regina killed the engine and stared out of the windshield as she contemplated what to say, or even if there was anything that could be said. "I thought I was driving you to an abortion clinic," she blurted out before she could help herself, and groaned inwardly at her own insensitivity the moment she did.

"I considered it," Emma whispered, causing Regina to whip around to stare at her, only for the blonde to roll her shoulders in a helpless shrug. 'Before you came to see me, I thought about…you know. I was in a bad place, but I can't do it. I couldn't do it with Henry and I can't do it now, no matter how terrified I am. I want this.'

Slowly, Regina nodded, "If it means anything, I believe that you can do it," she said earnestly, earning a small smile from Emma.

"Thank you for this, Regina, truly. I was going to drive myself yesterday but I couldn't between needing to be sick every ten minutes and being so scared…I really do appreciate your help," Emma said, her eyes filled with a gratitude that was echoed in her voice, and a sadness, too. 'But you have your own family at home to think about,' she pointed out.

Rolling her eyes, Regina shot a soft glare in Emma's direction. "You are my family," she pointed out, even surprising herself with the truthfulness behind the words. Of course she had considered Emma part of her family for a while now, she was her son's mother, but they had never explicitly stated aloud that this was the case. 'I told you, I'm here to help, Emma.'

"But I-"

"You have bigger things to be concerned about anyway," Regina quickly interrupted before Emma could thank her again or do something else completely unnecessary.

Seeing the smirk that had curled its way across Regina's lips, Emma narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What?" she asked warily.

Reaching for the keys, Regina started the ignition once again. "You get to tell your parents you're pregnant," she reminded Emma.

Groaning, Emma collapsed back in to the seat. "Don't remind me," she grumbled, laughing in spite of herself as they pulled away from the curb with the intention of taking them somewhere they could eat before having to embark on the long drive back to Storybrooke.


	3. Chapter Three

It took a considerable amount of effort to avoid the Charmings at the best of times, let alone when they were hell bent on extracting as much Emma related information from Regina as they could. News of Regina and Emma’s venture outside of the town’s limits had predictably not taken long at all to spread and so by the time they had returned, it was to find both of Emma’s parents and a worried Henry waiting for them at Emma’s house. Though Regina knew it gave Emma to pleasure to silently stomp up the stairs in to her house without saying anything more than a quick hello to Henry, Regina had had to fight back the urge to laugh at the astounded look on Snow’s face when her attempts at comfort went unwanted. Ever since then, when the Charmings had become more fully aware that Regina knew more than she was letting on, they had been unrelenting in their pestering of her. 

 

While Regina did a fairly successful job at either avoiding the Charmings or telling them to give Emma some more time, it was far harder for her to avoid her son. Due to Emma’s current state, Henry was living at Regina’s full time. It was only a very recent development that Emma let Henry in her house to see her so that they could have dinner every second night, and thankfully Emma hadn’t needed any sort of push in that regard. If anything, it was blatantly clear to Regina that Emma was beginning to feel more and more guilty for pushing Henry away without explanation. 

 

Each and every time that Henry went to see his other mother, Regina expected him to come home fresh with the news that Emma had told him she was pregnant, and yet Regina was never surprised that this didn’t happen. In the week and a half since their trip to Portland, Emma and Regina had only seen each other once when Regina had all but dragged Emma out of that house to have coffee and something to eat at Granny’s. People stared at them, more than half would likely report the event back to Snow within the hour, but they stared more because it had been so long since they had seen Emma than anything else. The image of the two of them sitting there peacefully together considering their long history was now no longer a shock to the townspeople. 

 

When Regina’s phone rang at almost ten she frowned to herself, and quickly answered, her mind immediately jumping to the conclusion something terrible had happened for Henry to be calling her during his time with Emma. 

 

Before Regina had even gotten a word out, Henry was speaking quickly. “There’s something wrong with Mom.”

 

All but launching herself out of her chair behind her desk, Regina raced out of her study. “I’ll be right there Henry,” she promised firmly, her heart immediately flying in to a wild panic of rapid taps against her ribcage. 

 

As a general rule, those able to use magic were currently doing their utmost not to use it unless it was absolutely necessary. Despite the madness that had occurred with Camelot and then the Underworld, Storybrooke was currently enjoying a very rare period of calmness. That being said, Regina was hardly going to waste precious minutes driving to Emma’s house when she could easily transport herself there with magic. 

 

Henry, being the exceptionally intelligent boy that he was, evidently knew this would be Regina’s course of action and was already pulling open the front door when Regina appeared on the porch outside it. 

 

“I don’t know what happened,” Henry started in a rush, quickly stepping aside to allow Regina to sweep across the threshold in to the house. ‘She was fine during dinner and then all of a sudden she got really sick. She hasn’t come out of the bathroom and won’t let me in. She told me to call you.’

 

Vaguely familiar with the layout of Emma’s house, Regina had a good idea of where she needed to go in order to find Emma. First, she gently placed a hand on Henry’s shoulder and attempted to offer him a warm smile to calm him. “She’ll be fine, Henry. Stay down here, and close that door,” she told him before hurrying up the stairs in search of the bathroom. 

 

On the second level there were only four doors to choose from, three of which Regina knew led to different bedrooms. Only one was closed, and Regina made her way toward it, forgetting all sense as she merely barged right in rather than bothering to knock and wait for a response. Though it hardly mattered, as Regina’s panic came to a grinding halt as she looked down at where Emma sat on the floor next to the toilet. 

 

Leaning up against the wall, Emma’s legs were spread out in front of her while both of her arms were wrapped around her stomach. Tilting her head to one side, Emma’s pale lips twitched. “What if I had been naked?” the blonde queried, an attempt at a joke. 

 

Slowly, relief seeped through Regina, turning her fear induced ice-cold blood warm again. “Morning sickness,” she breathed out.

“At night time,” Emma pointed out rather obviously. ‘Did Henry call?’

 

“He did, and almost succeeded in giving me a heart attack,” Regina replied, inching further in to the room, Regina made quick work of her assessment of Emma. The blonde had certainly looked worse, but with her hair messily tied up and her face drained of color, she had definitely looked better. ‘Are you finished?’ she added, nodding to the toilet next to Emma. 

 

Sizing up the toilet as though it had done her a personal harm, Emma screwed up her nose but eventually nodded. “I asked to call you so you could pick him up, I knew I could drive him,” she explained as Regina flushed the toilet and closed its lid. 

 

“Moms?” Henry’s voice hesitantly floated through the bathroom door a second before he appeared there, hesitantly peering in. ‘Is everything ok?’

 

From her place on the floor, Emma exchanged a quick look with Regina, one that was tinged with guilt but was also something of a warning and a request. “Henry, help me get your mother on her feet,” Regina instructed, unsure that she could manage to lift a weakened Emma from the floor under her own steam without causing injury to one of them. 

 

Grateful to be able to help, Henry quickly strode forward, and took one of Emma’s arms while Regina too the other. After a three count, they both pulled, with Emma doing her best to aid them. “Here’s good,” Emma declared as soon as she was upright, immediately swaying dangerously in to Regina as she did so before dropping on the closed seat of the toilet. 

 

“Classy,” Regina snickered once she was sure the blonde wasn’t about to slide off and back on to the tiled floor. 

 

“That’s me,” Emma practically groaned, arms wrapped securely around herself like she was willing her body not to betray her again. 

 

Taking a step back, some of Henry’s fear had abated, replaced by an almost irate suspicion. “What’s going on? Shouldn’t we take to a hospital or something?” he asked of Regina. 

 

Peering up at Henry, Emma slowly shook her head. “I don’t need a hospital, kid, I already know what’s making me sick,” she said, and from the way she quickly cut her gaze to Regina, it was obvious where this conversation was finally heading. 

“I’ll give you some privacy,” Regina murmured. 

 

“No, it’s ok,” Emma said before Regina had even taken a single step toward the door. ‘You already know and besides, if I need to puke again I wouldn’t want to do it all over the kid,’ Emma added. 

 

Placing her hands on her hips, Regina cocked an eyebrow at Emma. “But throwing up on me would be just fine?” 

 

Despite her illness, Emma grinned back up at her. “It’d be funny,” she admitted. 

 

“Moms, come on. What’s going on here? You’ve both been acting weird since we got back from the Underworld. You hang out and talk but won’t tell Grandma and Grandpa what you talk about,” Henry said, his frustration with being left out of the loop finally coming to a head. ‘You guys are my moms and I’m not a little kid anymore, you don’t have to keep secrets from me. You’re starting to scare me.’

 

Ghostly smile slipping from Emma’s lips, she nodded seriously back at Henry. “You’re right, Henry. We treat you like a child at the wrong times and an adult at the worst. We haven’t learned that there’s a middle ground with a teenage, especially you,” she told him earnestly. 

 

“So just tell me what’s going on for once,” Henry implored, looking from one mother to the next beseechingly. 

 

“Take a seat, kid,” Emma instructed, as though this conversation weren’t taking place in a bathroom. 

 

While Regina understood that Emma wanted her there, she couldn’t help but feel like she was intruding on an incredibly intimate moment between mother and son as Henry perched himself on the edge of the bathtub. But what was more important than Regina’s feelings was the fearful look in Emma’s eyes, like she was anticipating Henry to have a bad reaction to what he was about to hear. It was the same uncertain, frightened look Emma had had in the doctor’s office when getting her blood taken, and Regina resolved to remain standing exactly where she was for as long as Emma needed her to stand there. 

 

“I’m pregnant.”

 

The confession blurted unceremoniously from Emma’s lips, and Regina didn’t bother to hide it as she rolled her eyes at Emma’s tactlessness. For them both, though, Henry was their main concern and they watched him carefully for any sign of a reaction. 

 

His eyebrows rose in initial surprise, he pursed his lips and then, “Oh.”

 

Regina blinked rapidly. “Oh?” she and Emma echoed at the same time. 

 

“Well, the sickness makes sense now,” Henry said, gesturing toward the toilet that Emma was currently still seated on. 

 

Just as taken aback by Henry’s lack of reaction as Regina was, Emma frowned at their son for a long moment. “You don’t have anything you want to say, or any questions?” she asked of him. 

 

After a long moment of consideration, Henry’s brow puckered. “I mean, I’m sorry,” he said quietly, staring down at the tiles at Emma’s feet instead of directly at her. ‘I know that it must be hard to deal with now that Hook is gone and you have to do it all alone.’

 

At the mention of Hook, Emma’s expression hardened and she clasped her hands distractedly in her lap. “I’ve had your Mom, so I haven’t really been alone,” she muttered, giving Regina a tight smile. ‘She figured it out and came to see me, she’s been a lot of help.’

 

It felt like an overstatement. All Regina had really done was made sure that Emma still ate something and had driven her to the appointment in Portland, that hardly screamed support to Regina but she really wouldn’t know either way considering her lack of experience. 

 

“I’m not surprised you figured it out, Mom,” Henry said to Regina, smirking at her knowingly. ‘You spent years trying and failing to find Snow White but you can sniff out anyone else’s secrets in an instant.’

 

Narrowing her eyes playfully at her son, Regina endured the short laughter that he and Emma shared at her expense. “You would be careful to remember that the older you get, the more inclined I’ll be to find out your secrets,” she jokingly threatened, so that Henry only continued to grin back at her. 

Her own humor drying up a bit, Emma continued to watch Henry curiously. “Are you sure there’s nothing on your mind? You can tell me how you’re feeling, Henry, it’s ok. This is a big thing and you’re right, you’re not a little kid. You’re allowed to share whatever it is that’s going on in that brain of yours,” she told him seriously, willing him to be honest. 

 

Given the option to be honest at Emma’s request, Henry looked almost nervous before he answered, “Is this a good happy ending kind of thing?” he asked cautiously. 

 

A sad smile flitted across Emma’s lips. “It’s a life thing,” she replied quietly, her shoulders rising and falling in a helpless shrug. 

 

Henry nodded in understanding, “I feel kind of sad for you. I want to help,” he said decidedly, strength finding its way in to his voice so that the words were supported by a determination to do something to help. 

 

With a tearful smile, Emma pushed herself up away from the toilet under her own power and quickly enveloped Henry in a hug where he was still sitting on the edge of the tub, kneeling on the cold tiles in order to do so. Henry hugged her back tightly, and only once Emma had refused to let go did he look up at Regina in search of help. 

 

“I think you might be strangling him, dear,” Regina murmured softly, smiling along with Henry as Emma squeezed him tight once more before finally pulling away. 

 

“Shut up, it’s the hormones,” Emma told Henry when she caught sight of him smirking at her while she wiped tears from her cheeks before yawning widely. 

 

At the clear sign of Emma’s exhaustion, Regina strode forward and put a hand under the blonde’s arm. “I trust you’re capable of dressing yourself?” Regina lightly mocked as Henry took up Emma’s other side and helped the blonde back to her feet. 

 

Rolling her eyes, Emma stubbornly shook both of her assistances off. “I can manage, or I’m sleeping in jeans,” she said, shakily walking off out of the bathroom, and childishly turning the lights off on Regina and Henry with a snort as she did so. 

 

It took all of two minutes for Emma and Henry to say their goodbyes, as Emma was too tired to do anything else but go straight to bed. Regina and Henry hadn’t even left the house before Emma succumbed to her exhaustion and fell asleep, from the bags that had been under the blonde’s eyes it was safe to assume that sleep was not a regular occurrence for her. But with Emma safely asleep and in bed, not sprawled on a bathroom floor, Regina and Henry could return back home. It wasn’t too far, and Regina didn’t know when they had decided it, but they were soon walking home together. 

“Is she going to be ok?” Henry asked after a couple of minutes, his hands gripping the straps of his backpack while he stared down at the pavement intensely. 

 

“Your mother has been through this before, Henry. She’ll be fine,” Regina said, sounding far fiercer than she had intended to. 

 

Next to her, Henry slowly dipped his head in a short nod. “I know, and it’s better that she has people that love her this time. But I mean will she be ok on the inside? Even though she has you and me, and she’ll have lots of other people once they find out, will it matter? Hook is still gone and she’s still sad, won’t she still feel lonely?” he wondered, kicking at a loose stone that came across their path. 

 

They were questions that Regina had gone over many times since first coming to the realization that Emma was pregnant, and there were countless other worrying factors that Henry had thankfully not thought of yet. Regina didn’t have the answers, and she wasn’t about to lie and pretend that she did. 

 

“Your mother has survived a lot, and it won’t be easy for her but she knows that she isn’t alone. I think as long as she knows that there are people here that want to help her and who care about her, she’ll stand a fairly good chance of being happy,” Regina said, finding herself thinking back to the many times in which she had seen Emma prevail when all sense and logic had been against her. As her enemy, it had been an infuriating trait. As Emma’s friend, Regina found it to be almost inspiring. 

 

“Is she going to tell anyone else?” Henry asked after a few moments, their face a mere meandering along the sidewalk through Storybrooke at night while the rest of its residents were safely tucked away in their homes. 

 

Regina glanced at Henry, well aware that the Charmings had a habit of interrogating him whenever they saw him, too. “Emma needs things to go at her pace, that’s very important, Henry. So if your grandparents ask you about your mother, just be vague,” she told him. Neither she nor Emma would ever want for their son to keep secrets for them, but Regina could already tell that Henry had no intention of spilling Emma’s news to anyone. 

“I never tell them anything anyway. It was their idea to give her space,” Henry said with a definitive shake of the head. 

 

Regina exhaled deeply, “Your grandparents’ plan to give Emma room to grieve apparently had an expiration date,” she muttered under her breath, though Henry could still hear her perfectly. ‘In any case, they will learn of the news whenever and if ever your mother decides to tell them. Until then, all you can do is continue to be there for her and make sure she knows you love her.’

 

Watching Henry, as grown up as he seemed these days, Regina could see that he was still conflicted and likely keeping much more of his true feelings hidden for Emma’s sake. It was the wrong time to ask if Henry was excited, and it would be a stupid question to pose to either Henry or Emma given the circumstances. Still, it meant that Regina would be keeping an eye on both mother and son in the near future.


	4. Chapter Four

A lot could happen in just two short weeks in the life of Emma Swan, and Regina was beginning to find that it wasn't at all a burden to be the one keeping up with it. Following the positive results of the blood test and Henry's discovery of the news, Emma had informed Regina that she had decided against giving birth within the limits of Storybrooke. There were a number of reasons for this, but mostly Emma simply didn't want Whale anywhere near her or to share the same doctor during childbirth as her mother. Regina did point out that there were likely other qualified persons in Storybrooke to help, but Emma was determined, and agreed only to the compromise of choosing a hospital a little more than half an hour away. In the case of an emergency, it would still be relatively difficult to get to in a timely manner, but for now Regina focused on knowing that Emma was at least making headway with her planning.

The newer changes in Emma were extremely subtle but nonetheless important as far as Regina was concerned. Emma had returned to work where she continued share sheriff duties with David, and they had finally nailed down a schedule for where Henry slept and when. Despite Emma's reentrance in to society, there were some who recognized that she was still withdrawn and couldn't let it go. Snow and David had not only noticed just how closed off Emma could now be at times, they had also begun to notice Regina and Henry's instinctive protectiveness over her.

Sitting at the counter in Granny's with a fresh coffee in hand, Regina was enjoying the first few minutes of peace awarded to her that day. A Saturday morning full of meetings had very nearly bored her to death, which would have been tiresome enough if not for the visit she had gotten from Snow in her office first thing that morning. As with most of their conversations lately, it had been about Emma, and Regina's now blatant refusal to give in to Snow's pleading for information. Emma was back at work and functioning; that should be enough for the woman.

Just as Regina raised her coffee to her lips, the sight of her son hurriedly wrenching the door to the diner open gave her the feeling that her few moments of serenity were about to be shattered. Thinking about how her meeting with Snow had ended that day, with the other woman storming out in frustration, Regina could guess what Henry might be there to tell her about.

"I messed up," he said, nervously coming to a stop right next to Regina, lowering his voice so that no one around them would here. 'I accidentally told grandma the thing that I wasn't supposed to,' he said.

Catching sight of Ruby hovering only ten or so feet away, Regina followed along with Henry's avoidance of the topic itself. "I'm sorry, Henry, she shouldn't have dragged you in to this," she said, pushing her coffee away from her carefully.

Still, Henry seemed unnerved as he hastily shook his head. "No. Grandpa called me and asked if I had seen Mom. They talked to her about all of this, they had a fight and she drove off. They can't find her, but I thought maybe we could. She'll want to see us, right?"

In one fluid motion, Regina rose from her seat and swung her coat back on, already heading for the door. "Let's hope so," she muttered under breath as she led Henry out of the diner and out to the parked Mercedes in the street.

Knowing Emma quite well, Regina was confident that the blonde wouldn't have driven off to somewhere public if her intent was to avoid being found by her parents. Regina first drove by the docks and then down the winding roads of the woods, she and Henry keeping a sharp eye out of the distinct yellow contraption that Emma called a car. Regina was running low on ideas when Henry came up with one of his own.

"What if she went back to the house? Your house, I mean," he said from the passenger seat, his eyes still scanning their surroundings through the windshield before meeting Regina's gaze briefly. 'You're her best friend, Mom. If she didn't want to be alone maybe she went looking for her friend,' he rationalized.

Secretly, Regina thought that Henry was overestimating how much she meant to his other mother but with no other options to consider, Regina made the necessary turns toward her own house. In spite of Regina's reservations, though, it was impossible to miss the bright yellow bug where it was parked in front of Regina's house and on the porch sat the lonely figure of Emma Swan. Physically, Emma looked fine as Regina and Henry hastily exited the Mercedes once Regina had parked in the driveway. The blonde was sat on the stop of the porch, knees brought up to her chest and arms wrapped around them tightly. It was obvious that Emma hadn't expected to be out in the cold much, as she wore one of her long sleeved shirts with no jacket and was sans beanie in the blustery weather.

As Regina and Henry drew closer, Emma smiled tiredly at them. "Hey."

"You could have gone inside, the house isn't empty. Robin is here," Regina said, watching Emma stand.

Ruffling Henry's hair distractedly, Emma muttered, "I know."

To escape the biting wind, the three of them quickly made they way to the front door and in to the house. Regina didn't quite have it in her to chastise Emma for the number of loose leaves that were stuck to the bottom of her boots, faced with the blonde's sour expression it left Regina with little else to do but remember her concern for the woman. The living room carpet could wait, Regina wasn't so sure that Emma could.

"Do you need anything to drink?" Henry asked, hovering by Emma's elbow as she dropped on to the couch unceremoniously.

"Got any cider?" Emma replied, smirking knowingly in Regina's direction, though there was no seriousness in her tone.

With a roll of his eyes, Henry stepped away from the couch. "Cocoa it is," he chuckled on his way out to the kitchen, leaving Emma and Regina alone, now both seated next to one another.

Immediately, Emma appeared apologetic. "I'm sorry, I just didn't know where else to go. You're the only one that really gets how they are," she said quietly.

Regina couldn't help but laugh because she truly did know just how much Snow and David could grate against one's nerves at times. "I'm glad you decided to come here, though I do wish you hadn't sat out in the cold the entire time," she said, nodding toward the thin material that covered Emma's torso.

Glancing down at herself, Emma merely shrugged uncaringly. "I didn't have time to grab one. They were being so…them," she said for lack of a better word, her jaw clenching with frustration.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Regina queried carefully, not wanting to push Emma when she had evidently been pushed far enough that day already. In truth, it looked as thought the last thing Emma wanted to do in that moment was talk about anything at all. She was slumped back in the couch, her brow furrowed with a constant scowl while the fingers of her right hand tapped the arm of the couch repeatedly. Running her left hand through her hair, Emma quickly glanced over to the doorway to check if Henry was there listening, though Regina could clearly hear him in the kitchen where he was likely making a mess in his attempts to make cocoa for his mother.

"I just wish they would give me some time," the blonde admitted, speaking more softly now, as though wanting such a thing was shameful and yet to Regina it felt perfectly understandable.

Before she could speak, Regina's heart dropped at the sound of her front door opening once again, accompanied by footsteps. There was a very short list of people that would ever dare not to knock and simply barge in to Regina's house, and all of them were already in it. Emma, too, immediately knew who it was that had come barging in and she shared an exasperated look with Regina. Of course in a town this small with not many places to hide it was inevitable that the Charmings would eventually find their way to Regina's house. When Snow and David entered the living room they did so warily, as if expecting to have something thrown at them for their troubles. Regina and Emma didn't move, leaving the Charmings to slowly make their way around the couch until they stood by the fireplace, expressions a combination of concerned and confused.

After taking a moment to assess Emma, Snow let out a relieved breath. "Emma, we're sorry. We didn't mean to upset you, we've just been so worried these past few weeks and we want to help," she implored, so that her apology was lost in amongst a silent request for Emma to open up.

To back up his wife, David added, "You don't have to push away the people that love you."

His attempt at fatherly wisdom washed over Emma, and Regina watched as the blonde looked from one parent to the next, sizing them up before speaking. "I haven't pushed everyone I love away. The people that love me should be more understanding of what I need. They shouldn't use their own grandson for their own gain," she replied evenly, her expression dangerously impassive.

Shooting a glance in Regina's direction, Snow pressed her lips together in a sad sort of smile. "I'm sorry, Emma, truly. If we'd known what you were really going through we would have done whatever we could to help make things easier for you. You don't have to do this on your own," she said.

"She hasn't been alone," Henry said from the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, the hot cocoa evidently forgotten in the kitchen. 'She's had Mom,' he added with a deft nod in Regina's direction.

Evidently, this wasn't news that Henry had brought up during his earlier interrogation nor a revelation that Emma had brought up during her argument with Snow and David as their eyebrows rose in surprised unison. If Regina wasn't hurt or offended by the looks on confusion on their faces, then she most certain was hurt by the next words that came out of Snow's mouth.

"You told Regina before us?"

It was a simple enough question and perhaps Regina's internal reaction was unwarranted, but she couldn't help the stinging that the disbelieving tone had inflicted upon her. She and Snow were friends now, and perhaps it was a little strange that Emma had trusted Regina with her secret this long, but Regina hadn't thought that Snow would look so dumbfounded at the idea. It felt as though Regina wasn't worthy, and didn't deserve to be let in on the secret.

"Mom guessed," Henry pointed out from behind Regina, not that she looked up, she was far too busy smoothing out the invisible wrinkles in her dress to avoid anyone being able to detect that she had been upset by Snow's words.

David raised another eyebrow, "You guessed?" he asked, and though Regina wasn't looking, it was obvious that the question wasn't for her.

Thankfully, though, Henry had her back. "She noticed when no one else did and has been there for Mom ever since. You guys haven't stopped pushing and asking questions since we got back from the Underworld. First, you left Mom all alone in the house because you thought that's what she wanted. You abandoned her, and now you're mad because someone else was there for her when you didn't want to be," he said, his voice rising with every word so that by the time he's finished it's in a shout.

Neither Regina nor Emma chastised him for raising his voice to his grandparents, not now, and they probably won't later. Glancing up at the teenager it was easy to see the pent up anger that he felt, and rightfully so. Henry had every right to voice his feelings, and every right to stand up for his mother, whichever one that might be.

"What's going on?" a new, slightly irritated voice asked in a hush from the same doorway that Henry had just vacated during his shouting as he had moved to stand behind his mothers in support.

At the sound of Robin's voice, Emma immediately rose to her feet. "Emma, where are you going?" David sighed as his daughter began to make her way back around the couch so that she could leave.

"Sorry for the trouble Regina," Emma murmured, ignoring David's question and keep her eyes glued to the floor as she moved.

Casting another angry look at his grandparents, Henry was quick to follow. "I'll go with you," he told her, so that she slowed up only enough to put an arm around his shoulders and march out of the living room past a clearly confused Robin in the process.

Only once Regina heard the front door shut in such a way that Regina could tell exactly which one of the duo had slammed it did she round on the Charmings still standing in her living room. "Need I remind you that this is my house? We might be friendly now but that does not give you the right to barge in here with your misguided parental nonsense, nor does it give you the right to press my son for information on his mother's private affairs," she hissed, her voice firm as she glared from one idiot to the other.

"She's our daughter, Regina, we were scared. We shouldn't have talked to Henry, I know that but can't you understand that we felt so helpless these last weeks watching Emma isolate herself and then force herself through motions when she is in public?" Snow practically whined, willing Regina to comprehend what she was saying.

Regina shook her head. "Emma needs your support right now, not your meddling. If she wants you to be involved in this then you will be but it is her choice, this is happening to her. If you know what's good for you, you'll let her do this her way and give her the time she needs," she said, relaying Emma's actual desire to her parents with a bit more force than Emma might have done.

The Charmings appeared rightfully guilty, shamefully dipped their heads. "You're right. Emma will come to us when she's ready, and until then we shouldn't push so hard," David agreed.

Beside him, Snow nodded in affirmation. "Thank you, Regina. Henry had a point, you've been there when no one else has been and you cared enough to notice she was pregnant in the first place. Thank you for taking care of her," she said.

"Emma can take care of herself, I've only been here to support her," Regina amended strongly, against the very idea that the pigheaded Emma she knew required another person to care for her in any capacity.

With a murmured apology full of genuine remorse, the Charmings took their leave much quieter than Emma and Henry had done. Once they were gone, and the drama with them, Regina let out a long breath that immediately caught in her throat when she realized that Robin was still standing there watching her with an expectant expression.

"Emma's pregnant?" he asked, clearly confused by the conversation that he had just witnessed unfold. Seeing as Snow has just given away the secret anyway, Regina stiffly nodded. 'You didn't tell me,' Robin continued, as though mildly surprised that this was the case.

"Emma asked me not to," Regina shrugged tiredly, internally debating whether or not she should go to Emma and Henry now to check on them. At the very least she was going to call Henry, lest his mother still be driving and therefore unable to answer.

Leaning casually in the doorway, Robin nodded calmly, his relaxed demeanor in stark contrast to how tense Regina felt in that moment. "Well, your lengthy stays out of the house make a lot more sense now," he reasoned, his tone light but there was something off about it that made Regina wonder if he was truly upset that she had not included him in this.

With all of the talk about Emma's pregnancy, Regina really shouldn't have found it so easy to forget that there was already a baby in the house but she was quickly reminded when she heard the sound of faint cries echoing down from upstairs.

"You should go," Regina told Robin, gesturing toward the sound of the cries while she fished her phone out of the inside of her coat she had failed to remove when she had arrived with Emma and Henry. 'I'll be right up in just a minute,' she added with a smile in Robin's direction when she realized that her words sounded an awful lot like a dismissal.

"You're going to call her?" Robin said, phrasing the statement as a question though it was obvious that he already knew the answer.

Pausing with phone in hand, Regina had the overwhelming feeling that she was doing something wrong. But to call her friend, and her son, who had both just left her house extremely upset was natural. It was safe and responsible to want to check on their well-being when no one else would.

"I owe it to her to be a good friend," Regina found herself saying, the truth ringing loudly in her words. After years of good and bad decisions, and more near catastrophic events than either cared to remember, both Regina and Emma owed it to each other to be there for the other. They had saved each other time and time again, had raised a son and defeated a cluster of undefeatable enemies.

Faced with this reality, Robin could do nothing more than press his lips together and head upstairs to his daughter with a fainthearted, "I'll see you soon."

Robin's dejectedness would have to be addressed, and Regina would endeavor to do right by him just as soon as she knew Emma and Henry were safe. Though truly, she needn't have worried so much about them as they were concerned for her. When Regina had to settle for sending a text after neither answered their phone, asking if they were alright, the answer Regina received from Emma was simple. Are you?


	5. Chapter Five

Weekends had evolved over time for Regina during her admittedly long residency in Storybrooke since first casting the curse. Initially, she had been unable to make any real sense of when the weekdays merged in to what was usually considered a two-day reprieve and so she had worked almost constantly. In those early years when she had yet discover a true desire to accomplish anything else now that she had achieved her goal of revenge, Regina had simply worked tirelessly at being the intimidating and vindictive mayor the town learned to fear so much. A baby had changed that, and weekends became Regina’s most cherished time as it allowed her to spend some uninterrupted time with Henry. Of course, as Henry grew older and became more aware of how off things were in Storybrooke, those special days grew less and less frequent until he never wanted to be in her presence at all. After that, weekends returned to being work related, which had to be better than the tense standoffs she and Henry used to have. Regina had been a less than stellar parent, especially in those years when Henry had loathed her for a series of very good reasons. All the same, post-curse weekend life now was generally about as non-existent as ever. If they weren’t facing down some great villain one week then they were being whisked off to the another realm or saving someone that had gotten themselves in to some kind of awful peril. In the current lull they were experiencing the prospect of having free time, especially when Henry was staying with Emma, was now a particularly awkward experience for Regina. Basically, she was always at a loss for what to do with herself in her own house. 

Truly, Regina should feel a little more occupied what with Robin, Roland and a baby all in the house to be mindful of. Most times, it was Regina left with a baby while Robin imparted forestry wisdom to Roland at every opportunity. Regina didn’t exactly dislike the arrangement, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t excited to get out of the house for the day and leave Robin to do the diaper changing. 

Rising early following what had been a tense night between herself and Robin, Regina busied herself in the kitchen making breakfast for Roland who was happily watching her work with his many questions. In a lot of ways, the morning mirrored many that Regina had shared with Henry when he was a similar age. It was nice to revisit the memories even now. As for her situation with Robin, whatever his issue was regarding the recent turn of events, he was yet to actually voice anything to Regina and so the tension remained unresolved for now. Though she knew she probably shouldn’t be, Regina was rather relieved at the prospect of getting out of the house with Emma that day so that she could gather her thoughts properly before she could healthily tackle things with Robin later. The trip out of Storybrooke, which Emma had invited her along to the night before, would be a welcome breath of fresh air for Regina to clear her head and center herself. 

As she placed a plate of eggs in front of Roland, Regina heard the distinct short buzzing sound indicating a received text message. From his place in the doorway, baby in his arms, Robin looked toward the sound emanating from Regina’s phone where it sat upon the counter. 

“That would be Emma,” he said, his voice sounding rather distant to Regina’s ears as she retrieved her phone and moved toward him. 

Admittedly feeling a twinge of guilt, Regina stopped at Robin’s side to swiftly peck him on the cheek. “I’ll be back for dinner,” she assured him with a smile, earning a much smaller one in return before departing from the kitchen. 

Swinging her coat around her before stepping outside, Regina was unsurprised to spot the bright yellow Bug parked in front of her house with its engine still running. It was just possible to make out Emma in the driver’s seat, her shoulders appearing tense even from a distance while she waited, eyes cast forward. 

Regina quickly opened up the passenger side door and settled herself down next to Emma, no longer all that put off by the audacious car as she had once been. Although spending time in the Bug was not the most comfortable thing for Regina to experience, it also wasn’t the worst when Emma had obviously been blasting the heater that morning to aid in Regina’s comfort. Emma had been sufficiently cagey about what it was they were doing that day but with how tense things were feeling in Storybrooke, Emma could have asked Regina to drive to stare at a wall in a neighboring town and it still would have worked as a much needed break from reality. 

“Morning,” Emma greeted as soon as Regina had gotten in the car. 

“Good morning, Miss Swan,” Regina replied lightly as she pulled the seatbelt across her chest, knowing full well what Emma’s driving could be like at times. 

Apparently aware of this, Emma waited until she heard the snapping sound of the seatbelt buckling before pulling away from the curb in front of Regina’s house. “How was your night?” she then asked, her tone brighter than Regina had been expecting and therefore immediately suspicious. Especially since they had been texting half the night so Emma should have a fairly good idea of how Regina’s night had gone. 

“Did you sleep well?” Regina asked, deciding to ignore Emma’s question in favor of one she felt was far more important. 

Emma’s hands gripped the wheel nervously, giving away the nature of her response before her words could. “I woke up a couple times. How are the kids?” she said, making an obvious effort to appear to be genuinely interested in the inner workings of the dynamic within Regina’s house. 

Regina opened her mouth to point out the behavior and get to the bottom of it before thinking better of it. “They’re both very well,” she replied instead, supposing that it was probably better to play along for now rather than put Emma on the spot. ‘How was Henry this morning?’ she decided to ask, not only obviously genuinely interested in how their son was handling things but also not wanting to push Emma. 

The red leather covering Emma’s shoulders rose and fell with a shrug, her eyes focused on the road ahead of them. “I don’t think he would tell me even if he was having a hard time, I think he’d rather tell you so you can set me straight,” she said, smirking when Regina scoffed at the notion as though it were impossible to control anything Emma did. Which it was.  
“Even I’ve conceded defeat in trying to get you to behave yourself,” Regina muttered, the statement not all that untrue and that only made it all the funnier to Emma as she let out a soft chuckle that almost sounded proud.

Their idle chat continued as Emma turned on to the long road that would lead them directly out of Storybrooke, countless trees flashing past the windows in a blur of forest green. As soon as they passed over the town line, both women let out identical quiet sighs of relief, and Regina saw Emma rest back in to her seat a fraction. Maybe they were both running away from their problems a little bit, but being away from Storybrooke’s never ending drama was a well-deserved treat. 

“I’m sorry about last night. I didn’t mean for my problems to intrude like that, especially in your house,” Emma said, exhaling loudly as she did so as though she had been holding on to the apology since Regina had gotten in the car. 

Staring out of the windshield at the rapidly moving stretch of road ahead of them, Regina gently shook her head. “Don’t be sorry. You’re more than welcome at the house, Emma, you being there was not intruding. I’m sorry that your parents found out before you were ready, or had the chance to tell them yourself,” she said. The immediate reactions of Snow and David still left a bitter taste in Regina’s mouth. 

To Regina’s surprise, Emma let out a short breath of laughter. “In a way it’s easier that they found out from Henry anyway. They would have had a lot more questions if I’d been the one to tell them and I don’t have many answers right about now,” she said, her words still light on the surface but Regina could sense the heavy tone that vibrated beneath them. 

It had escaped Regina to remember to ask where they were going once she had gotten in the car and so she was relatively surprised when Emma turned the Bug in to the parking lot of a hospital. “Today is the first ultrasound,” Emma murmured so quietly that if she hadn’t cut the engine first, Regina would have missed the admission altogether. 

In truth, Regina had figured that Emma had already attended the first ultrasound on her own in the weeks that had passed since their initial trip to the doctor and she certainly hadn’t expected to be present whenever the event did take place. To say that Regina was surprised would be something of an understatement. “Are you sure?” she found herself asking. 

Unbuckling her seatbelt, Emma frowned at Regina. “You don’t have to come in…”

“No, no,” Regina quickly said, removing her own seatbelt in a flash. ‘I only meant are you sure that you want me here with you? Your mother would like to be here instead, or Henry even,’ she pointed out, not wanting Emma to think that she was unwilling or unhappy to be included in such a milestone event. 

Emma screwed her nose up a little, “I couldn’t have handled my mother today, you know what she’s like,” she said, smirking at the snort of laughter her words drew from Regina. ‘I couldn’t have had Henry here, either. Not yet. These kinds of things were never a good experience when I was pregnant with Henry. I was never happy back then and I’m not sure how I’ll react to it today,’ Emma continued on, refusing to look at Regina now. 

Despite Emma doing all she could to avoid looking at Regina, it was clear that the driving force behind her words was the guilt she apparently felt surrounding Henry’s birth. “Henry loves you, Emma. As much as he would love to be here, he’s also a smart young man who doesn’t blame you for his childhood and will understand you wanting your space for a little while,” she assured the blonde confidently. 

Taking a deep breath, Emma swallowed hard. “You’re my best friend, Regina, and I feel more at ease with all of this when you’re around than when I’m with anyone else or on my own,” she admitted almost shyly, hesitantly glancing in Regina’s direction to catch her reaction. Touched, Regina smiled in return and Emma flashed her a wide smile. ‘Besides, I get the feeling you might have needed a break from your house and the people in it,’ she added, almost teasingly as she referred to Regina’s current instability with Robin. 

Just like that, Regina’s smile turned in to an eye roll and she pushed open the car door. If it would settle Emma’s obvious nerves to poke fun at Regina’s home life then Regina would let it slide in the best interests of her closest friend. Emma appeared mostly calm when they presented to the front desk and she was handed a number of forms she was required to fill out and sign. Regina had no experience with anything like what Emma was experiencing or with carrying a child in general but even she was somewhat nervous and so she could only imagine what Emma must have been feeling internally. 

“Emma Swan?”

At the sound of her name being called, Emma surged to her feet more animatedly than what was probably required to greet a small grey haired woman. “That’s me,” Emma declared, actually pointing a finger to her chest as if she hadn’t already made her point clear enough. 

Regina stood as the woman reached them and offered her hand firstly to Emma. “You can just call me Jeanie. I’ll be your technician, and I’m glad to see you’ve brought some company along for the wait,” she said kindly as she then turned the greeting to Regina. 

“Oh, yeah. This is Regina, she’s my…person…friend. Friend person,” Emma supplied, her brow furrowing as she made the introduction. 

If Jeanie found Emma’s explanation of Regina’s presence there a little odd, she didn’t show it as she practically bounced on the balls of her feet. “Well, we certainly all need friend people in our lives and in my experience, these things are best shared,” she said, making a natural lean away from Emma and Regina to lead them away from the waiting room. 

Walking with a definite sense of purpose, Emma strode almost a full step ahead of Regina, her determination to get this over with now so great that by the time they reached the examination room mere seconds later she immediately moved to the singular thin table in the room without waiting to be instructed to do so. Jeanie, who looked old enough to have invented the cesarean birth method in Regina’s opinion, smiled kindly at them as she held the door open for both women. Regina stood rather awkwardly next to it once the technician had pulled it shut. While Emma had settled herself on the small table, knowing what her required role in this situation was, Regina was rather left at a loss for what to do and how to stay out of the way. 

Hands facing palms down on the uncomfortable looking surface she was reclining on, Emma watched Regina for a long moment before her nervous mask cracked ever so slightly so she could almost smile. “Regina,” she said softly, nodding to the single seat that was placed in the corner of the small room directly next to Emma. 

Appreciating the direction, Regina was quick to take the offered seat while Jeanie herself sat on Emma’s other side next to the somewhat foreboding ultrasound machine. “Now, I understand that this is your second pregnancy but there’s been a bit of a gap between the two,” Jeanie said conversationally, her hands busy powering up the machine and reaching for a large tube simultaneously. 

Emma nodded stiffly, her eyes tracking Jeanie’s every minute move cautiously. “Fourteen or so years ago,” she explained in a tone that Regina could only describe as robotic. 

Wheeling herself a few inches closer, that ever present smile was still blazing on Jeanie’s face. “Things haven’t changed too much since then but if you have any questions as we go along don’t be shy. I know it can be awkward, but I want to try help you be as comfortable as possible,” she said, that tube still in a gloved hand. 

Taking a deep breath, Emma nodded her understanding. “I’m ready,” she said as though she was about to go in to battle against dragons and not merely pull up her shirt and stay still for a few minutes. 

After being given the direction, Emma’s hands hesitantly moved to the bottom of her dark blue sweater to pull the hem of it and the shirt beneath it up to her ribcage. With how lean and fit Emma was, it had long been impossible to tell that Emma was pregnant and as she lay on her back nothing had changed. From her place by Emma’s shoulder, Regina could only see a perfectly heathy taut stomach that tensed when a dollop of gel was squeezed on to it from the tube in Jeanie’s hand. 

With one hand hovering over a keyboard type instrument that was part of the ultrasound machine's design and another holding a small device pressed to Emma’s skin, Jeanie tapped a few keys and hummed a song to herself but for the most part nothing she was doing meant anything to Regina. Emma was still tense, far too tense for her to be comfortable, and the blonde woman was staring directly up at the ceiling blankly. 

“And there’s the little one,” Jeanie said softly, though Regina didn't dare look, her attention was thoroughly focused on the blonde before her. And then after a single moment, sound softly emanated from some other part of the machine. Rapid beats were tapped out rhythmically, strongly. A heart beat.

Emma hadn't moved up until the moment the sounds of the heartbeat washed over them, and now she closed her eyes slowly, almost clenching them. Leaning forward and essentially forgetting that the technician was even there, Regina reached out for Emma’s hand with her own, grasping it gently to draw her attention. “Emma, you should look” she whispered, eyes flickering across Emma’s face. 

The hand beneath Regina's twitched minutely before Emma slowly opened her eyes to meet Regina's, the blonde's swirling with confusion and fear and a million other emotions that moved too quickly for Regina to name. Regina smiled softly, and the next look she saw in Emma's eyes was something new to Regina altogether. A resounding, unbreakable trust and something that Emma felt so strongly that Regina's heart clenched as it felt it second hand. Slowly, Emma turned her head to the right with a breath visibly held somewhere in her chest. Regina didn't look at the screen, she was standing at Emma's side and to be honest she couldn't bring herself to care about anything but Emma's barely concealed distress. Her concern was warranted though, as she felt Emma's hand tremble beneath her touch before hearing that pent up breath cracking free of the blonde's throat in a sound that was a heartbreaking combination of happiness and grief. 

Emma gripped Regina's hand, and Regina responded by using both of her own to cradle the only piece of Emma she could, returning the pressure in an act she hoped was comforting. Tears streamed down Emma's face, cascading down her cheeks and neck in endless rivers of mixed emotions that Regina couldn't even begin to fathom. Jeanie thankfully recognised the seriousness of the moment and busied herself with a few quiet words about measurements and things that Regina didn't hear, allowing Emma her time to take in the view that was on the screen. It was probably only five minutes at most, but to Regina it felt like hours as she watched Emma think her way through whatever she was feeling. There was so much more there just below the surface, so many thoughts that Emma was holding at bay as she bravely processed the physical reality of what she was seeing. All the while, Regina felt her appreciation and respect for the woman growing by the moment. 

"I have some pictures for you here," Jeanie said after what felt like a very comfortable forever, and Regina watched as Emma's other hand gingerly took a thin envelope from the friendly woman. The corners of Emma's mouth twitched with the steady exhale that she released and then with the faintest of smiled as she considered Regina with a soft expression full of gratitude and a touch of something else that Regina couldn't quite put her finger on but what felt like the most powerful of Emma's current emotions. 

It took almost as long for them to leave the medical center as it had for them to walk in and wait for the appointment. Emma’s movements were slower now and her attention diverted away from anything physical around her so that it was now solely focused on the envelope in her hand. She just barely managed to nod in agreement when Regina thanked Jeanie for her time and took note of when Emma’s next appointment was due to be. They reached the car and Regina opened the passenger door for Emma before taking up residence behind the wheel for the drive back to Storybrooke, knowing that Emma was hardly in any state to be driving right then. 

“Are you alright?” Regina asked quietly, Emma’s car keys in her hand where it was clasped with the other in her lap.

Emma bit her lip under Regina's gaze, eyes glistening brightly. "I never thought that I would be in a good place to have another baby. I never thought I would get there...I'm still not so sure that I am there," she admitted, barely more than a whisper so that once again if the engine had been running her words would have been carried away with the noise. 

Reaching over, Regina gripped Emma's arm supportively, drawing the woman's attention directly to her now. "You're not alone this time, Emma," she found herself saying, not knowing if those were even the words that Emma needed to hear or if they would be helpful. But they were the truth, and Regina was certain that Emma was never going to be at a loss for love and support. 

“Thank you,” Emma replied, bright eyes sparkling with genuine earnest as she stared directly in to Regina’s. 

As they shared that solitary moment, Regina felt something almost physical slot itself in to her chest somewhere. In those few seconds more than ever, Regina had the strangest feeling that maybe she wasn’t really alone either. Yet despite how comforting it felt to know, Regina couldn’t shake the nervous flutter around her heart that inexplicably terrified her to no end, nor could she explain its presence. 

"Let's go home, friend person," Regina heard herself saying, though the words echoed around in her mind bouncing off other thoughts that lurked just beyond her comprehension. And so while Emma spent the entire ride back to Storybrooke carefully inspecting the ultrasound pictures she had been given, Regina was left with the strongest feeling that she was missing an important piece of a puzzle belonging to a discovery just beyond her reach.


End file.
